Who gets paid during a government shutdown: VERIFY Fact Sheet

Congress has until Nov. 17 to pass a short-term funding plan and avert a partial government shutdown.

Some federal agencies and programs are funded by annual appropriations bills. Shutdowns happen when Congress doesn’t approve that funding, which prevents the government from spending the money it needs to remain open. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s current proposal to avoid a partial shutdown would extend government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19 and continue funding for others until Feb. 2. It’s unclear whether the stopgap funding bill will garner enough support to pass the House. 

Many VERIFY readers have asked how a government shutdown would impact pay for federal workers, including military personnel, postal workers, as well as members of Congress and their staff. 

THE SOURCES

• Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB)
• Congressional Research Service (CRS)
• Government Accountability Office (GAO)
• Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019
• Department of Defense (DOD) government shutdown guidance 
• Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh
• The U.S. Constitution
• The National Constitution Center
• David Wessel, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution and director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
• U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.)
• United States Postal Service (USPS)
• JD Supra

• U.S. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.)

WHAT WE FOUND

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Each federal agency develops its own shutdown plan and identifies which activities can continue until the shutdown is over, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) explains. 

Since agencies have to stop many of their activities, some federal employees are furloughed, meaning they don’t report to work. The number of furloughed employees hit 850,000 during the partial government shutdown in 2013.

But essential services, many of which are related to public safety, continue to operate during a shutdown, according to the CRFB. That’s why some government employees are considered “excepted” and continue to work without pay during a shutdown.

Some other federal employees fall under the “exempt” category, including those whose job functions aren’t funded by annually appropriated funds, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. They will continue to receive their normal pay.

During previous government shutdowns, border protection, in-hospital medical care, air traffic control, law enforcement and power grid maintenance have been considered essential services, the CRFB says. These services would likely be deemed essential if the government shuts down again.

RELATED: What’s open and closed during a government shutdown: 8 Fast Facts

QUESTION #1: Will furloughed and "essential" government workers be paid during a shutdown?

THE ANSWER

Furloughed and excepted employees who have to report to work aren’t paid during a shutdown. But they will eventually get back pay.

Historically, Congress has approved retroactive pay for excepted and furloughed employees, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says.

But that back pay was not guaranteed until Congress passed and former President Donald Trump signed a federal law in January 2019. 

That law called the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act requires both essential employees who worked without pay, as well as furloughed workers who did not report to work, to be paid after a shutdown ends. 

These employees must be compensated “at the earliest date possible,” regardless of scheduled pay dates, the law says. 

QUESTION #2: Is the president paid during a government shutdown?

THE ANSWER

The president is paid during a government shutdown. 

That’s because the U.S. Constitution requires the president to get a paycheck at all times, the CRS and National Constitution Center say.

Article II, Section I of the Constitution says: “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected.”

This part of the Constitution “forbids the salary of the president to be reduced” while they are in office, effectively guaranteeing that the president is compensated “regardless of any shutdown action,” according to the CRS.

QUESTION #3: Are members of Congress paid during a government shutdown?

THE ANSWER

Members of Congress receive paychecks during a shutdown due to federal law and the U.S. Constitution. 

Congress members’ salaries have been funded by a permanent appropriation since 1983, the CRS says. That means funding for their pay does not have to be approved annually. 

The Constitution also requires members of Congress to be paid during a shutdown, the CRS and National Constitution Center say. 

Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution says: “The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States.”

In addition, the 27th Amendment forbids any change in the compensation rate for Congress during a current term, the National Constitution Center says. 

Some congressional staffers may remain on the job during a shutdown. But, like other federal employees, they would not be paid until the shutdown ends, David Wessel, a senior fellow in economic studies with the Brookings Institution, says.

QUESTION #4: Will military service members be paid during a government shutdown?

THE ANSWER

Military service members and furloughed Department of Defense (DOD) personnel would not be paid during a government shutdown. But, like other federal employees, they will receive back pay when it ends.

Active duty military personnel and a limited number of civilian employees with the DOD would continue to work during a shutdown, according to shutdown guidance issued by the DOD in August 2023. Other DOD employees would be furloughed. 

RELATED: Yes, veterans will still get disability, pension benefits during government shutdown

QUESTION #5: Are USPS workers paid during a government shutdown?

THE ANSWER

U.S. Postal Service (USPS) workers are paid during a government shutdown. 

USPS  is not affected by shutdowns, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) says on his website. That means employees would continue to work and be paid. 

Though the USPS is a federal agency, its budget authority for day-to-day operations is not dependent on annual appropriations acts, the CRS explains. 

The agency is funded through the sale of postage, products and services – not tax dollars.

QUESTION #6: Are government contractors guaranteed pay during a shutdown?

THE ANSWER

Some federal agencies contract with outside companies to provide goods and services.

A shutdown may affect government contracts that are not fully funded. But it’s unclear exactly what this would mean for contractors’ paychecks. 

“The fate of a government contractor” during a shutdown “depends largely on the agency with which their company contracts,” U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.) says on his website.

Other factors at play include whether the contracted work is deemed “essential,” and if the contractors need access to federal facilities or approval from non-essential federal workers, according to JD Supra, an online repository of legal information.

If government contractors have to work without pay during a shutdown, they are not guaranteed to receive back pay under federal law like furloughed and excepted federal employees. 

In many previous shutdowns, contractors did not receive retroactive pay through legislation, Bishop Jr. says.